Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
It is the mob mentality I do not like these days, due to social media and forums being an easy way of people taking down someone because they did them wrong. Some call it freedom of speech...
A couple of months is enough for a spare engine or an engine you don't need urgently. Sometimes I have asked for the next days or next week if in a rush, and to balance what I ask if in a rush then for other less urgent things I give delays. It also depends of what you pay for, personally I almost never pays premium, which is also why I don't overask and adapt. Back to the 5 months engine thread, yes it is fucked up and not justified as the custumer pays premium on top of that. It would be good to hear about the other side of the story, although the email exchanged were quite clear.
Also, about the BS, you wanted information so just for information:
14 months welding job: it was a (easy) frame and (challenging) swingarm mods for a yzf chassis with a yz engine (af conversion). The company is pretty well known in france for being a supplier of a factory yamaha team in road racing and they also supply some parts to a french mx team ; I was coming from 2 close friends who have been working with them for more than a decade, so I was really confident initally. I won't throw their name under the bus although I hate this company since this episode and I am sure karma is a bitch, I have 0 doubt I will deliver the payback the day i want to. I wanted to work with them and they agreed, i wanted to have welds like service honda and not MPS if you see what i mean and I was for once ready to pay well for that (100€ an hour, in the us it may sound normal but in france it is 2 to 4 times what we pay for welders). The worst part is i had 7 or 8 bikes waiting to launch a sort of collection series. They did 1 bike (125 yz rinaldi AF), then they fucked up really bad, it started from the welder having a tib fib injury, I was still ok for the 4-6 months wait, but then BS, BS, BS and again BS (example: a rush period, forgot my number, a rush period, proposed to buy the bike for actually like half the price, a rush period, lost the pipe, etc etc). They were like babies that needed to be given the hand to walk. Anyway I didn't care much/didn't have time as i had another business but at some point I just took my bikes back. What amazed me is they were surprised / sorry that I was getting my bike (full of dust) back and they were proposing me to wait another month. The bike was looking so good (check my avatar, have you seen 2 WR 250 rinaldi AF or 300 AF or 360 Ohlins AF ? - that at 3 or 4K could have been sold like hot cakes) that I always wondered if yamaha interfered as they launched the restyled version 1 year later or so, but I think that small company just screwed up, they were just too busy working as automotive supplier. Now you will say why not another welder ? Because it was like working with service honda or factory honda instead of mps, in term of marketing and safety I needed a very reputable welding company and there was only one I could get a good leverage from, I didn't want just another af conversion. Then when you think it was sorted out, one of my buddies who was also an alu welder left his job after I brought 2 bikes to him, and the bikes collected dust for another 6 months. After this ugly story, just for a good laugh, now an alu welder rent a room in my house since 3 years (and the next 2). Moral of the story, go give immediately a good bottle if you know a good welder (because here in france a good percentage of people who didn't study much also don't care much about their job). This recommendation is applicable for mechanics too, if you know a good one, spoil him !
3 months for a special pipe: it was a custom made pipe from a nice pipe maker in the netherlands. The pipe was not on his catalog so he made one specifically for me (dyno, etc). It was working awesome and it was a good vendor of a great sponsor/distributor at that time so I won't give name either, and I would actually highly recommend them.
3 months for some special kit and parts: not for mx, for road, an italian very well known maker. At that time we were maybe 5 guys globally with this kit pipe crank rod so I guess there were not mass producing those. I won't give name either, I would actually quite recommend them but I don't think this thread would be good advertising.
2 months wait for a gearbox failure: this is oem, yamaha, the bike was pretty a new generation (and 3 months old) so the supply availability was not there (gearbox and cases, as most of the gearbox went through the cases, leaving a nice 5 cm hole. On top of that it was not under guarantee although the bike was 3 months old, plus my local dealer who supported me forgot about the bike around the summer vacation which lost another week or 2. At that time it was bad because i had only 1 bike.
Anyway, nothing to excuse the 5 months engine delay, I am just saying s.. happens sometimes. Via these threads, it still good to know what to avoid or not, or what to be more careful with or not.
From what I took on the orginal post there was the OP and another who actually had a issue but dozens of people who "wanted to cut his fucking head off" insert waterboy quote. Just wanted to throw in I had zero problems with is timeliness and quality off work along with performance/ reliability. Sucks for the OP and the other guy, understand their frustration.
I, as well as quite a few others who have documented their experience with Derek, would of been thrilled with a month. Some never got their stuff back period (GET ECU), some got their stuff back after 4+ months, some got their stuff back as unusable cores, and were sold junk , + out 4+ months of time. I dont doubt their were some folks who did get what was promised, delivered in a reasonable time frame.
My intentions anyways were never to start some Mob trying to condemn Derek. They were purely to let others know that there are quite a few folks who have had horrid experiences with him, myself included. I searched pretty heavily for some reviews before deciding to utilize his services, and didnt come across anythign negative. Had I seen all this, I would of never sent my cylinder to him to begin with, and I wouldnt of missed a riding trip this spring, wouldn't of had to shell out huge money for a replacement cylinder + Main PV, wouldnt of had to deal with someone attempting to be little me on instagram without including all relevant facts (as to not incriminate themselves), ect.
How a business owner handles these issues, is what separates a business thats worth utilizing, and one thats not. And unfortunately, Between the original poster waiting 5 months for an engine, being lied to about Harris being out of his shop currently and not being back to loretta's while posting photos on instagram of him at his shop, the way he handled my situation (documented via email screen grabs), and the way he handled a few other folks who's jobs went south, speaks the most about his business.
Good mechanics are generally not known for their business acumen and client service, they really don't go hand in hand from my experience. There is a reason that they work with machines and not people.
Poor communication skills is extremely different than screening calls, dodging emails, and 100% lying to a customer, in my opinion anyways.
Guy said he was out of shop till after Loretta’s so he couldn’t send a motor back, yet was posting on Instagram, from his shop of something he was working on lol.
just going to leave this here for everyone in the mob to review
Pit Row
To be clear, I've had zero communication with anyone regarding this. But I do have to play ref if I see things tilting too far in one direction...which I think this one had.
we have NEVER done such a thing.
And if there is a claim as such - I need the persons name and info - and I'll search all our contact. and make that right.
I post under my real name. I don't hide behind my keybaord - and I don't post up all the absolute horsehit that is done to me ALL the time.
Maybe I should...but then again I think there a right way and a wrong way to do things and our wonderful customers who have supported us for year - come back regularly - and think we do good work are a testament to that.
So if you wish to talk shit - post up your real name. Post up where you work. Post up my invoice that you paid.
Or our fabulous race results at ALL top levels of racing. I truly believe our 2 titles in supermini in 2017 with Ty masterpool will be one of the last true privateer efforts in that class to do so. Call jerry up and see what he thinks about HP
Zane Merrett had a career best finish at millville this weekend and top 10 start moto 1 as a full privateer - with a top 6 start in second moto and unfortunate crash where I think he would have backed up his first moto. Since zane has been on board HP - he has consistently been mixing it with and sometimes beating the fully supported kids. Call zane up and ask what he think about hp vs all the "big talkers" and names he has had prior.
Tyler livesay, owner of the MX factory and a wonderful youtube channel led laps in the 125 all star at thundervalley aboard hp. Call livesay and see what he thinks about HP.
Call the nehiesers, who had been around the ringer, and see what they think about HP.
I've got a fabulous young lady Named cami samples running HP this year. Call her dad and see what he thinks about HP - vs "the prominent" amateur 2t builder
I have a customer in new zealand running a premier team there. I wont' publish his name - as he'd prefer to keep his advantage. But over the course of 3 years now he has been running and buying HP - first started by him buying our package and testing it vs 6 other top US names - and has continued with him selecting us based of the dyno results backed up by fastest laps and moto podiums in their nationals. He is a continued testament to the effort and work that goes out the door.
I have MONTHS of backlog. It sucks. I hate it. It cost me money. It has cost me HUGE money in storage. It costs me time. It cost me stress - and I flat out can't stand it. And yet time in and time again - when I tell people Im really busy - they dont seem to believe it.
Last year a guy posted here on vital about how I had bad customers service on an ECU when HE didn't pay - and we DID EVERYTHING we said we would. 1 day turn around, email sent, I literally left a DAY later for loretta's for him in hopes he would pay - and NOPE.
And that's my fault?
I get asked all the time - Im told your the only guy in the area who can do this - I don't care if your busy can you do it.
I have a big heart. It's hard to tell a dad who buys a used bike for his 13 year old kids birthday I can't help you - when I know the next shop that MIGHT will fuck the guy. That literally just happened before I hopped on this thread. Kids birthday today and the dad got scammed on a used bike he bought for him.
It costs me employees and un believable headaches there.
It costs time on the phone - which is just wasted time.
And email
And texts
etc etc etc
I NEVER take payment up front - how am I the guy fucking people when we dont even have payment?
I donate HUGE time to questions from people all the damn time. FREE. To those who have gotten that time - your welcome - hope it helped.
People these days think it's ok to call me all hours of the day and night, sat and sundays, get pissed if I dont get back to them on the weekend etc. Call PC and ask to speak with Mitch on sat or sunday.
Or have mitch do your work - see how long that takes.
I have customers who do vintage bikes and have waited YEARS for work from mitch. They don't come bitch and moan about it.
I fix an INSANE amount of these "other builders' work. I don't post about it. I don't talk shit about them. I can't possibly know what the situation is for them - and what the consumer TRULY did to them - or TRULY was willing to pay - or TRULY said he wanted or what was TRULY communicated.
This industry is hard enough as it is. People expect F1 work on cheap beer budgets. People expect the "pro circuit" sales experience with full time sales staff, customer interface etc.
But I would literally have to be 10 times the price to offer that - and just haven't learned how to do that. A pipe costs PC 200 bucks on a 4t
But the customer service and overhead adds the 700 to that.
I don't sell pipes.
I have a VERY shitty free time life now. I NEVER get my time. And I'd like enjoy life just like everyone else does but apparently I can't post on here because I have someone's engine?
The OP of this thread apparently took it down. Someone started it up - uttery pathetic. The OP of this thread has paid zero money to me thus far.
The OP sent a total basket case. Completey apart, parts everywhere, box had holes in it when it arrived. Little bubble mailers that were labelled "parts" that I assume parts were in - were ripped and parts were NOT in. I have multiple "witnesses" to the box that arrived - I have photos - and I certainly have every email. I never withheld the engine. I said the day I Read his email requesting his parts we would send it back - and I had my good friend reach out to him to accomplish that - I was headed to Milville to support one of my best friends - oh by the way he is a baja 1000 winner and multiple time podium finisher aboard HP engine and suspension services... for the only outdoor race of the year I will attend - where I could double duty to support Zane, support Skippy 168 on his lifelong dream and FIRST EVER outdoor, where I also GAVE him FREE support in ECU and bike tuning so he could chase that dream and we could be a small part of that.
Am I not allowed to go to a race?
Have I not delivered an assembled engine to the Kid? Nope sure havent
Has he paid 1 penny yet?
Nope.
Is it worth him paying me the 120 an hour straight shop rate for me to dedicate ALL my focus on his until its done? Hell no. That would be a 2-3k labor bill at minimum on an old RM125 that Im sure will be sweet when done - but unless Im mistaken - it's not some vintage restoration. And if it is - and that's what he wants - that's my fault. I should have asked up front if he wanted to pay that sort of money.
His first contact to me was to fix his leaking drain bolt and he would send me just the cases bare -
3 months later after it didn't show up when expected - it showed and the box (didn't find the envelop until much later due to how it was packaged) had no info to what it was. I literally thought someone was pulling a prank on me - i had no idea what the engine was and what we were doing.
I haven't read this whole thread - and Im not going to reply piece by piece. Get me the name and info for the "screwed" get ECU guy - and I'll see what we have regarding info on it.
All that being said.... You're the boss and its your playground .
I think Chris Cornell sang it best......
And you stare at me
In your Jesus Christ pose
Arms held out
Like you've been carrying a load......
What’s the story for 5 months on an engine? You mentioned that parts were everywhere and dirty....even if that’s the case, 5 months?
Let's say hypothetically this guy has one bike, and you have the motor to said bike during prime-time riding season. He isn't having much luck getting a hold of you and/or getting you to get on it. How would you feel?
As a business owner you need to understand this to continue to be successful and grow. If you are going to push other people's work off, which it sounds like you did with the OP, then you need to do 2 things. You need to charge a rush rate for people leap frogging your current jobs and you need to be working on these "rushes" in addition to your current jobs, not pushing the original jobs back.
Additionally, if the motor was a mess when you got it you \ needed to let the guy know that you were going to need more time, give him a realistic idea of said time and do your best to keep that commitment.
I think anyone will agree this is sound advice for a business owner.
Unfortunately I never got to experience the HP engine I was hoping for (and promised). What I received was you dodging calls for 6-7 weeks.
Mind you I only called once at 3 weeks as you had said up from 2 weeks to start it. 4 weeks you may of answered and said it was on the port bench. 6 weeks, nothing. Maybe around week 7 you popped in with an email you found a crack in the cylinder and advised against using it.
At this point, I was still a totally reasonable customer. Finding the crack at 7 or 8 weeks sucked, and cost us both time. Elected to buy a 265 you had said you found. Not really what I wanted but I needed a solution for the middle of March and it was already mid to late February.
So, you said it would go out end of week. Great I’ll have a cylinder back.
I believe it was two or three weeks of you working on the power valve finishing it up. Pretty sure in the end you said you were just looking for a power valve as you and your helper couldn’t get a bolt removed.
I’m a generous guy too, like you, I told you via email how to remove bolts like that in seconds, rather than hacking it like hamburger meat to attempt to use a flat head.
Anyways, I communicated verbally with you and email MULTIPLE times I was heading out of town for a riding trip, beginning 3 weeks before the trip. You assured me every one of those three weeks it would get out.
Well it didn’t. And you really didn’t have any excuse. Your helper sent it to me, while you were at freestone, AFTER I already missed my trip. Cylinder showed up. I paid you. Great, I can put this behind me.
Well that was until I went to install the cylinder. What I found was a repair job to the PV shaft area. I OPENLY stated that at first go around the shaft seemed to bind up. After cleaning the Buggar off, it spun properly. This was communicated to you verbally via phone. Regardless, as the customer, I shouldn’t of had to receive a cylinder, with a significant repair to the PV shaft area, that I paid money for, without ever seeing, without you disclosing this.
I’m not getting into what you think, or what you “know” about the cylinder requiring a seal with you again. We did this already, and it ended up with you losing your cool on the phone. Yamaha didn’t add a machining step to implement a seal, plus the part cost because they were hoping a builder down the road could come up with a cost reduction.
You don’t “bash” customers like folks who have had a poor experience with you are letting the public know? Your pompous Instagram post that left out the detail of me telling you the shaft spun fine after I cleaned a booger off of it, but was purely disgusted with what was said to be a 2 week job turning into ~4 months. Sure, you wanted to make it clear some of this time was spent due to my cracked cylinder you originally received. We can write off the 2-3 weeks you said it would originally complete in. Still over 3 months. Ok well give you the 7 weeks that it took you to touch it while actually not touching it. Still took another 4-5 weeks for me receive the cylinder you had sitting there.
I think the last communication we had was you calling me, raising your voice in frustration, asking me why I was calling. But you were actually the one calling me. You tried to talk yourself off the ledge by attempting to make it seem like you did me this huge favor, and that the parts would of been way more than the 735$. They weren’t worth a thing to me.
I am not the customer to call and nag you to take you away from doing actual work. Never was that guy.
Your customer service practice in my case was absolutely horrid. And no refund could get me back all the time I waisted, you waisted. It also couldn’t get me the riding trip I planned 5 months in advance back, that you knew about but didn’t seem to be concerned with, when you had MORE than enough time, as well as enough opportunities to promise I’d have it back (to which you did promise, and fail to deliver).
You said it yourself, you need my money more than I need your product. And that’s the most honest thing I’ve heard you say. Also, refrain from using pity when addressing customers. The fact you felt the need to let me know you’d “send me tracking when you got home” only “if your vehicle even makes it” is not a real good look.
Rant and rave all you want about riders you’ve supported. If you continue to treat paying customers like second class citizens because they aren’t chasing amateur nationals, your going to continue to disappoint folks. One would think the run of the mill jobs for joe blow would provide the capital to develop products for the fast guys.
I let it all slide and decided to move on, heard from a few more folks verbally very similar experiences to mine after the fact and wrote it off as a lesson learned. Then somebody else posts about a similar experience. So there you have it, my experience detailed for the customers like myself, who searched before sending you something for a review, and didn’t see anything negative. Somebody can take what they may from my experience, and utilize your “services” as their own free will. What I personally do for a living has absolutely nothing to do with a transaction (well, attempted) with regards to my personal dealing (again, not my profession related in the least) with a business, YOU operate. Weather I’m the president of the United States or a clerk at the local gas station makes no difference in the fact I attempted to be a paying customer in return for goods and services to be provided by your company.
-Drew
Post a reply to: Derek Harris – good/bad reviews